South Central Byways

Silver ThreadLength: 117 miles. Driving time: 3 hours. The colorful old mining camps of the Silver Thread offer history, scenic beauty, and a heavy dose of authenticity. The heights around Creede and Lake City remain strewn with abandoned mining structures, most of them accessible via rugged backcountry roads. … Read More

Top of the RockiesLength: 82 miles. Driving time: 2 hours.The route crosses the Continental Divide twice and traces the Arkansas River. With altitudes seldom dipping below 9,000 feet, this byway earns its name. Visit historic mining railroad towns en route to historic Leadville, the highest incorporated community in the U.S. … Read More

Collegiate PeaksLength: 57 miles (one way). Driving time: 90 minutes.You could call this byway “the Avenue of Fourteeners”— along its entire length, the Collegiate Peaks continuously rise above the 14,000-foot marker, and include such summits as Mt. Princeton, Mt. Yale and Mt. Harvard. Take a detour up Cottonwood Pass Road in fall for an explosion of autumnal color. … Read More

Gold Belt TourLength: 131 miles. Driving time: 5 hours. In the early 1890s the mining towns in the shadow of Pikes Peak enjoyed the greatest gold boom the state has ever known. This 131-mile circuit tours historic Cripple Creek, Florence, McCourt, Adelaide, Wilbur, Victor, and other former gold camps. … Read More

Frontier PathwaysLength: 103 miles. Driving time: 3.5 hours.The name of the byway sums it up perfectly. This old frontier zone south of the Arkansas River marked the intersection of Native American, Spanish, French, and American territories. Thousands left their footsteps in this much traveled corridor-first the Ute Indians, then Spanish and American explorers, and finally traders, fur trappers, homesteaders, ranchers, and gold prospectors. … Read More